So I've been a fan of Transcendence for a long while, first really joining when the release number was still 0.97. I kinda dropped off after 1.5 was released and when the game went to Steam, but I've started getting back into it. Loving all the changes and all the things I remember, such as the Commonwealth Fortress finally getting a unique model and such. Still there's things I don't really understand, so I decided I'll ask here.

First off, I've seen some new classes of gunships use the Ronin ship model (such as the Hunter-class gunship) and I'm wonder what's the lore behind that? Are they just Ronins refitted with different loadouts or are the Ronins placeholders?

What are the consequences of siding with the different Earth powers?

Will we be getting updates to the expansions such as Eternity Port or Corporate Command?

Speaking of which, what new official expansion can we expect?

Where do I get the unofficial mods from the Multiverse and how would I connect my Multiverse account with the Steam one?

Some ships are placeholders. For example, Sigyn in Corporate Command used to use the Aurochs sprites until it got its own.

Currently, Eternity Port is mostly about the cold war between Eurasian Diarchy and Asian Pacific Directorate, with Luminous being the last-minute Giant Space Flea from Nowhere you mostly deal with after finishing with Earth powers. You can join UAS no problem. NAS seems unfinished and you cannot do much with them (although code hints you play double agent to ED or APD after you join one of them, but that is not yet implemented). As for the big aforementioned two, both have mutually exclusive missions and feature level 10 weapon rewards after successful completion of the mission chain near the end of the game. Joining either ED or APD locks you out of the other side.

As for updates, maybe minor stuff to keep them functional, but George seems focused on part 2 and improvements to fundamental game features such as upcoming ship broker in part 1.

There's a full campaign dealing with Luminous. It isn't as well paced as the other campaigns, but Luminous is definitely built up over the course of the game.

It does not feel like it, despite stopping Luminous being required to win the Eternity Port dungeon crawl. After the first system and Sirius, Luminous/Morning Star/Lilith fade into the background, barely visible (appearing once in a blue moon) until Failsafe appears around endgame, when your part of the ED vs. APD rivalry is nearly at an end. It seems ED vs. APD cold war overshadows Luminous. Getting the level 10 weapon from ED/APD feels more of an accomplishment than beating Luminous and running back to Eternity Port, despite the weapon being optional.

So what's the Eternity Port factions' (UAS, ED, APD) relationship with the Commonwealth? Do they contribute in any way to the Commonwealth's war against the Ares or are they busy with their own things?

The monument at Sol mentions thousands of star systems in Human Space. I'm assuming this means in the in-game universe itself our Pilgrim Character's going through about 10 times as many systems as we do in the actual game, as the less than two dozen systems has always bugged me since it feels everything's so small. Does this have merit?

It does not feel like it, despite stopping Luminous being required to win the Eternity Port dungeon crawl. After the first system and Sirius, Luminous/Morning Star/Lilith fade into the background, barely visible (appearing once in a blue moon) until Failsafe appears around endgame, when your part of the ED vs. APD rivalry is nearly at an end. It seems ED vs. APD cold war overshadows Luminous. Getting the level 10 weapon from ED/APD feels more of an accomplishment than beating Luminous and running back to Eternity Port, despite the weapon being optional.

Absolutely agree there. The new Luminous ships and structures feel sort of tacked on, given that they don't show up in any encounters, and the only missions that mention Luminous are those in the campaign. Adding Luminous mines to the game, having Hunter Killers patrol and avenge stations in late game, and putting assemblers that produce their 'soldier' units earlier on could improve this, as could adding a procedural mission or two to Commonwealth Settlements dealing with Luminous.

Ideally, there would be some sort of algorithm that added additional Luminous encounters to most systems procedurally.

The monument at Sol mentions thousands of star systems in Human Space. I'm assuming this means in the in-game universe itself our Pilgrim Character's going through about 10 times as many systems as we do in the actual game, as the less than two dozen systems has always bugged me since it feels everything's so small. Does this have merit?

There used to be more systems, but that got changed. Given how generous the economy is and how many pieces of equipment are stocked by most stations, a player can already acquire a handpicked set of equipment of the current system's level almost immediately, making it necessary to limit the number of systems per level. Earlier versions of the game had deadlier enemies earlier on, were less generous with weaponry, and featured significantly less reliable defenses, meaning a slower rate of power growth was less grating than it would be with the current balance.

So what's the Eternity Port factions' (UAS, ED, APD) relationship with the Commonwealth? Do they contribute in any way to the Commonwealth's war against the Ares or are they busy with their own things?

While the factions co-exist peacefully with Commonwealth, they seem to be busy with their own things. Ares are much less important in Eternity Port. Player cannot go to Point Juno or after, where much of the story content for Ares are.

While the factions co-exist peacefully with Commonwealth, they seem to be busy with their own things. Ares are much less important in Eternity Port. Player cannot go to Point Juno or after, where much of the story content for Ares are.

Absolutely agree there. The new Luminous ships and structures feel sort of tacked on, given that they don't show up in any encounters, and the only missions that mention Luminous are those in the campaign. Adding Luminous mines to the game, having Hunter Killers patrol and avenge stations in late game, and putting assemblers that produce their 'soldier' units earlier on could improve this, as could adding a procedural mission or two to Commonwealth Settlements dealing with Luminous.

Ideally, there would be some sort of algorithm that added additional Luminous encounters to most systems procedurally.

AND that is "another thing" , I would like it if the rest of the main line was available, it would give more to the story and understanding of factions...

It would also give the Player more to do then grind their way to mission ready status & constantly looking over their shoulder for Nomads......
Love the Dreaming Nomads, BTW.
( they killed me once, and they make my T5 Nomad look like the weakest attempt at a better Nomad ever).

I happened into the Luminous system while exploring : no hostile ship contacts at all while investigating the system ( did get shot at by a station as I passed close to it ) .

While it has Collector Stations, I did not observe any activity in the system at all.

So, yes, there is Much room for upgrading Eternity Port, but I am still happy to have it, It's abit of a challenge most nights.

Flying Irresponsibly In Eridani......

I don't like to kill pirates in cold blood ..I do it.. but I don't like it..

I don't believe so. What exactly do you want to transfer from one to the other?

The ability to play the Multiverse-only extensions such as the VotG beta and Project Renegade mostly.

I think that capability will get added to Steam fairly soon. That said, if you want to play them now, you can just use a Multiverse account in the meantime - it's not as if either of those costs anything.